CHASE ON FOR FINAL SPOTS
By CHASE ON FOR FINAL SPOTS
ATLANTA -- The battle for berths in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup has
boiled down to a contest between nine drivers for the remaining seven spots. It
wraps up at Richmond International Raceway for Saturday's Chevy Rock and Roll
400, the final race before the Chase.
The tightest battle is at the bottom between 12th-place Clint Bowyer and his
two challengers, David Ragan and Kasey Kahne.
The top seeds are already set. Defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson
secured his spot in the season-ending 10-race, 12-driver race within a race
that will determine the series championship with a dominating victory in
Sunday's Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in California. Joining him after
Sunday were Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. Already in were series points
leader Kyle Busch, who also leads the circuit with eight wins, and second-place
Carl Edwards, who has six victories.
Here's a look at how the rest of the race to the Chase is shaping up.
CLOSING IN
With his runner-up finish in California, Greg Biffle all but assured himself of
a spot in the Chase. Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth also had top-five finishes
in the Pepsi 500, and all are at least 109 points ahead of 13th-place Ragan.
The most one driver can gain on another in a single race, assuming both
compete, is 161 points. Tony Stewart finished a lackluster 22nd at California
but is a relatively safe 138 points ahead of Ragan.
VULNERABLE
Jeff Gordon in 10th place, along with Denny Hamlin in 11th and Bowyer in 12th,
are in the elite 12 heading to Richmond, but a mediocre finish could cost them
a spot in the Chase. Gordon is a somewhat safe 102 points ahead of Ragan, but
Bowyer is just 17 points - roughly five finishing positions at Richmond - ahead
of Ragan. Bowyer has reason to be optimistic. He won at Richmond in May, his
only Cup victory this season. Hamlin is good at Richmond, too, with three
top-six finishes in five starts at his home track. Gordon has two wins there
and has top-10 finishes in the past three races.
ON THE VERGE
Ragan, the sophomore driver from Unadilla, Ga., couldn't pick a better track to
make his final bid for a Chase berth. He finished third at Richmond last fall,
still his career-best run. The same is true for Kahne, who is 14th, 48 points
out of the top 12. His first Cup victory came at Richmond in 2005 and he has
four other top-10 finishes there. Brian Vickers, in 15th place, is 190 points
behind Bowyer, and could only get in the Chase if he wins at Richmond and leads
the most laps and Bowyer does not enter the race. The rest of the field has
been eliminated from Chase contention.
Rick Minter writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: rminter AT
ajc.com.
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